Instagram has finally made it possible to not only put filters on your photos but also edit them. Users of the photo sharing platform who are on iOS and Android were able to start using the new editing tools on Wednesday.
Instagram upgrades offerings
The Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)-owned company has added settings for brightness, saturation, shadows, highlights, warmth and contrast. Users can also add dark edges to their photos, making it look sort of like a vignette. In addition, it is now possible to adjust the filters themselves by simply tapping on the filter icon. It brings up a slider to allow users to make adjustments to them.
With all of these additions, Instagram is now in line with numerous other photo apps that offer the same features. Photoshop Touch and Camera+ are probably two of the most popular ones. Instagram is finding itself in need of playing catch-up because of how popular these apps have become.
How Instagram might have others beat
Farhad Manjoo of The New York Times actually thinks Instagram might have others beat in spite of the fact that it arrived on the scene late. He called them “terrific” and said that while they aren’t particularly new in the technological sense, they are easier to use than many of the other apps that do the same thing. He also said Instagram’s editing tools are “more sophisticated” than most of the others.
Those who have tested out Instagram’s new editing tools say users don’t even have to know anything about photography. They say it’s easy to catch on to how to use the tools. Users just make the adjustments they feel the photos need by using sliders and tapping and holding to see how their changes work.
Instagram now has over 200 million users, as Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has put its resources behind it to grow it and improve its technology. However, the photo editing industry has grown much more competitive since Facebook bought Instagram.
